Method for making a wheel for hot glass sheet conveyance

ABSTRACT

A method for making a wheel ( 60 ) for hot glass sheet conveyance is performed by providing an annular tire ( 64 ) of high temperature resistant synthetic resin ( 65 ) in which a woven material ( 74 ) is embedded, and by molding a synthetic thermoplastic resin ( 71 ) in situ within the tire to provide a rim ( 70 ) that supports the tire for rotation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/530,955filed on Sep. 12, 2006 by Alfredo Serrano and Thomas J. Zalesak underthe title WHEEL AND ROLL ASSEMBLY FOR HOT GLASS SHEET CONVEYANCE, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a method for making a wheel for hot glasssheet conveyance.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,339 discloses a glass sheet forming system includingroll assemblies that provide hot glass sheet forming and conveyanceduring the forming. The conveyance as disclosed is between a lower rollconveyor and an upper roll former which receive a hot glass sheet in aflat shape and are then curved to provide the glass sheet forming. Boththe lower roll conveyor and the upper roll former include hot glasssheet roll assemblies which include wheels whose outer peripheriescontact the glass sheet from below and above. These wheels havepreviously been make to include a center rim and an outer glasscontacting portion that is made of a temperature resistant rope that iswrapped around the wheel and has ends secured within a radial opening inthe rim to provide securement. Thus, the outer surface of such wheelsdoes not have a 360° continuous surface for contacting the glass sheetbeing conveyed.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method formaking a wheel for hot glass sheet conveyance.

In carrying out the above object, the method is performed by providingan annular tire of high temperature resistant synthetic resin of atleast one aramid and having a central axis, with a woven materialembedded within the high temperature resistant synthetic resin, with theannular tire having a round outer surface for contacting a hot glasssheet for conveyance, with the round outer surface having a roundcylindrical shape extending parallel to the central axis, with theannular tire having a round inner surface defining an interior throughwhich the central axis extends, and with the annular tire havingopposite axial ends. A synthetic thermoplastic resin is molded in situwithin the interior of the tire to provide a rim in supporting contactwith the inner surface of the tire, with the rim being formed with acentral opening that rotatably supports the wheel for rotation about thecentral axis, with the rim being molded with opposite axial endsincluding radial outer annular portions that are located closer to eachother than the opposite axial ends of the tire, and with each axial endof the tire extending away from its other axial end past the adjacentradial outer annular portion of the molded rim in a cantilevered manner.

As disclosed, the rim is molded with the radial outer annular portionsof the rim including axial grooves that extend axially toward eachother.

In one practice of the method, the central opening of the rim is formedwith a rotational driving shape, and in another practice of the method,the central opening of the rim is formed with a round shape.

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention arereadily apparent from the following detailed description when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a glass sheet formingsystem.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the direction of line 2-2 in FIG.1 to illustrate a glass sheet forming station which includes lower andupper hot glass sheet roll assemblies having wheels made by the methodof the invention.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but shown after the lower and upperroll assemblies have been moved from a straight shape to a curved shapeto provide glass sheet forming.

FIG. 4 is a view of another embodiment similar to the one of FIGS. 2 and3 but having upper wheels that are individually supported without beingsupported by a common shaft like the wheels of the lower roll assembly.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through one of the hotglass sheet roll assemblies to illustrate its construction and theconstruction of the wheel made by the method of the invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view illustrating the resultant construction ofthe outer periphery of a wheel rim and an annular tire that extendsaround the rim.

FIG. 7 is an end view taken along the direction of line 7-7 in FIG. 5 toillustrate the construction of the wheel when it is made to providerotational driving.

FIG. 8 is a partial view similar to FIG. 7 of another construction whenthe wheel is not made to be rotatively driven but rather to befreewheeling.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating a mold in which the wheel rim ismolded in situ within the tire to provide the wheel manufacturingmethod.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, a glass sheet forming system is generallyindicated by 20 and includes a furnace 22 having a heating chamber 24and a conveyor 26 that is located within the heating chamber to conveyglass sheets G along a direction of conveyance shown by arrow C. Asillustrated, the conveyor 26 includes rolls 28 that convey the glasssheets G through the heating chamber 24 for heating to a formingtemperature. A forming station 30 of the system 20 is located downstreamfrom the furnace 22 to receive the heated glass sheets for forming. Morespecifically, a lower roll conveyor 32 and an upper roll former 34include hot glass sheet roll assemblies 36 and 38 respectively, whichare constructed in accordance with the invention as is hereinafter morefully described. Glass sheet forming system 20 also includes a coolingstation 40 having a conveyor 42 with rolls 44 for receiving the formedglass sheets. Lower and upper quench heads 46 and 48 of the coolingstation respectively provide upwardly and downwardly directed quenchingair to rapidly cool the formed glass sheets in order to improve theirmechanical properties.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the forming station 30 has its lower and upperhot glass sheet roll assemblies 36 and 38 supported by lower and upperelongated members 50 and 52, respectively, that extend along thedirection of conveyance. The lower hot glass sheet roll assemblies 36are rotatively driven by drive mechanisms 54 at the lateral sides of thesystem and are supported by suspension members 56 on a framework 58. Theupper hot glass sheet roll assemblies 38, which are freewheeling andthus not rotatively driven, are mounted by the upper elongated members52 which are supported at the opposite lateral sides of the system bysuspension members 59 on the framework 58. The opposite upstream anddownstream ends of the lower and upper elongated members 50 and 52 aresupported by linkages in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat Nos.5,498,275; 5,556,444; 5,697,999; and 6,378,339, the entire disclosuresof which are hereby incorporated by reference. Suspension members 56 and59 are operated to move the hot glass sheet roll assemblies 36 and 38from their flat shape of FIG. 2 to their curved shape of FIG. 3 in orderto provide the glass sheet forming. Both the lower and upper hot glasssheet roll assemblies 36 and 38 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 have wheels 60that are made by the method of the invention and are mounted byassociated shafts 62 as illustrated in FIG. 5, and the wheels are spacedform each other by spacers 63 through which the shaft also extends. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 4, the lower hot glass sheet roll assemblies 36also have wheels connected by shafts 62, but the upper wheels 60 areindividually mounted on the associated upper elongated members 52.

With reference to FIGS. 5-8, each hot glass sheet roll assembly wheel 60includes an annular tire 64 of a high temperature resistant syntheticresin 65 and has a central axis A that is also the same as the centralaxis A of shaft 62. The annular tire 64 has a round outer surface 66 forcontacting glass sheets for conveyance, and the tire also has a roundinner surface 68 defining an interior through which the central axis Aextends. Each wheel 60 also includes a rim 70 of a synthetic resin 71that is molded in situ within the interior of the tire 64 in supportingcontact with the tire inner surface 68. The rim 70 has a centralformation 72 that rotatively supports the wheel for rotation about thecentral axis A as described below.

The annular tire 64 of each wheel 60 as shown in FIG. 6 includes a wovenmaterial 74 embedded within the high temperature resistant syntheticresin 65 of the tire, and this synthetic resin forming the tire ispreferably made with one or more aramids. Furthermore, the syntheticresin rim 70 is molded in situ within a mold 76 shown in FIG. 9 and ismade from a high temperature resistant thermosetting resin.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, the round outer surface 66 of each wheeltire 64 has a round cylindrical shape extending parallel to the centralaxis A. The tire 64 has opposite axial ends 78 between which its roundouter surface 66 extends parallel to the central axis A with the roundcylindrical shape. Furthermore, the rim 70 has opposite axial ends 80which, as best illustrated in FIG. 6, have radial outer annular portions82 which immediately adjacent the tire inner surface 68 are locatedaxially closer to each other than the opposite axial ends 78 of thetire, such that each axial end 78 of the tire 64 extends from its otheraxial end past the radial outer annular portion 82 of the adjacent axialend 80 of the rim 70 in a cantilevered manner. This construction insuresthat the round outer surface 66 of the tire contacts the glass sheetalong the entire width during the conveyance. Radial outer annularportions 82 of the rim as disclosed are embodied as axial grooves thatextend axially toward each other and, as shown, have horizontal V shapesthat point toward each other.

The wheels 60 utilized to provide rotational driving of the lower rollassemblies 36 have central formations 72 provided by openings which mayhave any rotational driving shape such as the somewhat square shape withrounded corners like their associated shaft 62 as illustrated in FIG. 7.Wheels that are freewheeling such as the wheels 60 utilized with theupper roll assemblies 38 may have round shapes like their associatedshaft 62 such as illustrated in FIG. 8.

While different ways of practicing the invention have been illustratedand described, it is not intended that these ways illustrate anddescribe all possible ways of practicing the invention. Rather, thewords used in the specification are words of description rather thanlimitation, and it is understood that various changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for making a wheel for hot glass sheet conveyance, the method comprising: providing an annular tire of high temperature resistant synthetic resin of at least one aramid and having a central axis, with a woven material embedded within the high temperature resistant synthetic resin, with the annular tire having a round outer surface for contacting a hot glass sheet for conveyance, with the round outer surface having a round cylindrical shape extending parallel to the central axis, with the annular tire having a round inner surface defining an interior through which the central axis extends, and with the annular tire having opposite axial ends; and molding a synthetic thermoplastic resin in situ within the interior of the tire to provide a rim in supporting contact with the inner surface of the tire, forming the rim with a central opening that rotatably supports the wheel for rotation about the central axis, with the rim being molded with opposite axial ends including radial outer annular portions that are located closer to each other than the opposite axial ends of the tire, and with each axial end of the tire extending away from its other axial end past the adjacent radial outer annular portion of the molded rim in a cantilevered manner.
 2. A method for making a wheel for hot glass sheet glass conveyance as is claim 1 wherein the rim is molded with the radial outer annular portions of the rim including axial grooves that extend axially toward each other.
 3. A method for making a wheel for hot glass sheet glass conveyance as is claim 1 wherein the central opening of the rim is formed with a rotational driving shape.
 4. A method for making a wheel for a hot glass sheet glass conveyance as is claim 1 wherein the central opening of the rim is formed with a round shape.
 5. A method for making a wheel for hot glass sheet conveyance, the method comprising: providing an annular tire of high temperature resistant synthetic resin of at least one aramid and having a central axis, with a woven material embedded within the high temperature resistant synthetic resin, with the annular tire having a round outer surface for contacting a hot glass sheet for conveyance, with the round outer surface having a round cylindrical shape extending parallel to the central axis, with the annular tire having a round inner surface defining an interior through which the central axis extends, and with the annular tire having opposite axial ends; and molding a synthetic thermoplastic resin in situ within the interior of the tire to provide a rim in supporting contact with the inner surface of the tire, forming the rim with a central opening that rotatably supports the wheel for rotation about the central axis and has either a rotational driving shape or a round shape, with the rim being molded with opposite axial ends including radial outer annular portions that are located closer to each other than the opposite axial ends of the tire and that include axial grooves that extend axially toward each other, and with each axial end of the tire extending away from its other axial end past the adjacent radial outer annular portion of the molded rim in a cantilevered manner. 